Family
by catlovingmermaid
Summary: When Lightning returned to Radiator Springs he found more than a place to call home. He found a family. Humanoid
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I watched Cars 3 for the first time this Holiday season and it reminded me why I liked the first one so much. I rewatched the first one and this little baby popped up. It refused to let up so I figured if I wrote it down hopefully it would let go of my brain so I could work on some of my other stories.**

 **Summary: When Lightening rolled into Radiator Springs, he found something he had given up looking for a place to call home. AU Humanoid.**

…

It was after the race, Lightning was sitting in the Rust-eze tent, leaning back as he watched Doc talk to two girls. He frowned; he recognized the one with dark hair as Stormy Hudson, a racer who made her debut in the racing scene the year before he did. The other girl was red-headed, and Mack had off handedly mentioned could past as his sister. Why were they talking to Doc?

Lightning was contemplating getting up and wondering over to Doc. He never really talked to Hudson; she never made it to the top ten, and had, therefore, until recently, hadn't been worth his time.

Lightning ran his hand through his red hair before forcing himself to stand up and walk over to Doc. Just because Doc had came all the way from Arizona to be his crew chief didn't mean he wanted him back in his town. Besides it hadn't been hard to figure out that he was the one who called the press.

He slowly wandered over to Doc who greeted him with a gruff, "Hi Kiddo."

"It wasn't hard to figure out that you were the one who called the press." Lightening accused.

Doc glanced down, almost as if he felt guilty about it, until he looked up with that smirk of his on his face, "Well Kid's not as stupid as he looks. How'd you figured it was me?"

Lightning smiled wide and gave a laugh, "You were the only one trying to convince me to leave. Everyone else was trying to get me to stay."

Stormy Hudson looked him in the eye, for the first time since meeting her at the beginning of the season he noticed that she had piercing blue eyes just like Doc Hudson, "Doc's your father, isn't he?" he asked.

Stormy laughed, "I don't get it, he basically disowned me when I started racing, and you came along and dragged him with you." She smiled broadly, "You gave me back my dad, just wish that I could make him proud, but I haven't even ever got in the top ten."

Doc placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder, "The problem is girl, you won't take risks," Doc nodded towards Lightening, "While this Hot Rod takes too much risk. Maybe this off season I'll train the two of you and next season you'll both make me proud." He turned to the red headed girl who had so far remained quiet, "There's always room for one more you know Sunny."

Sunny shook her head, her bright blue eyes gleaming in amusement, "No thanks Dad, somebody needs to know how to patch them up after they crash."

Doc nodded, before turning back to Lightning, "I saw you talking to a interviewer out there, what was that about?"

Lightning scoffed his toe, "They asked what I was doing in Radiator Springs. I told them I was looking for a place to set up a Racing headquarters. You know someplace to go in the off season."

Doc clapped him on the back, "Good, because Mater brought his truck to tow your fancy car back to Radiator Springs if you refused to come peacefully."

…

Sally never thought that she would have to tell someone that the Cozy Cone hotel was booked solid, and that they might want to try Wheel Well, which was having a grand reopening on the weekend that they wanted to come up.

"What is the likely hood of us seeing Lightning McQueen?" the customer on the phone asked.

"It's a small town, I'm sure you'll run into him at least once. Just don't crowd him. He comes here to relax and enjoy the off season with his friends." Sally insisted before hanging up with a smile. That last question was probably the most popular question that all customers asked either as they check in or make their reservation.

Sally looked up as a lady in a business suit entered the lobby, "Hello welcome to the Cozy Cone Hotel, how may I help you?"

"Yes, I am looking for Sally Carrera." The lady stated all business like.

Sally smiled happily, "That's me, what can I help you with?"

"I understand that you are Monty McQueen's attorney. I have some important paperwork for him pertaining to his inheritance."

Sally frowned; Lightning never mentioned his real name or his family but that was the only McQueen she knew, "Lightning's out training at the moment," she said, "but if you come with me to my office I can set up a meeting with him."

…

Lightning was just pulling up alongside the Hudson Hornet after losing to him yet again, "You should totally race again, Doc, you still got it." He stated as he climbed out of his car and stretched.

"Did you see that Dad?" Stormy called out as she climbed out of her car, "I totally smoked Lightning."

"I would have won if Doc here hadn't driven off the track." Lightning grumbled as he took his helmet off.

"If you were paying attention, Lightning, you would notice that he didn't spin out, he drove off the road on purpose." Stormy pointed out, much to Lightning's annoyance.

Lightning rolled his eyes, Stormy was better at seeing little details like that, but he wasn't, besides, he had been next to him when it happened, not behind him like Stormy. He pulled out his phone, which had been vibrating for the past ten minutes with an unread text message.

Doc snorted, "No wonder you lost Hot Rod, next time you come out here I want you to leave that device at home. It's a distraction, even if you don't answer it."

Lightning nodded sheepishly, he hadn't thought of that, "Okay Doc, will do." he said with a mock salute.

…

Sally looked up as Lightning entered her office, his black and red racing jacket on despite the risk of heat stroke.

"I got your text, what's going on?" he said as he pulled up a chair, nodding a greeting to the woman next to Sally.

"I am Mrs. Carmichael, I'm the attorney dealing with your parents estate after your father's death last winter." The woman replied.

"He was my stepfather," Lightning muttered under his breath, before accepting a file that contained what looked like very important information and paperwork in it, "What's this?" he asked aloud.

"Some paperwork that came up while dealing with the estate, there's also a letter from your mother with instructions to give it to you on your eighteenth birthday, but apparently he never did."

Lightning looked through the papers, handing them over to Sally for review; she'd understand them better than he did. He soon found the letter Mrs. Carmichael mentioned, and carefully opened it.

The first time he read it, he forgot how to breath, the second time, the world started spinning, and half way through the third time through, he passed out.

Sally gasped as she crouched down next to Lightning, "Come on Stickers, wake up." she patted his cheek in an attempt to wake him up. When that didn't work she glanced up at Mrs. Carmichael, "Stay with him while I get Doc!" she ordered as she jumped up and headed out the door as quickly as she could.

Sheriff watched as Sally burst out of the Cozy Cone in a flurry, "Where's the fire, Sally?"

"Lightning passed out in my office and won't wake up. Where's Doc!" Sally exclaimed skidding to a stop in front of Sheriff.

Sheriff frowned, stroking his mustache, "I thought I saw him at Flo's with Sunny."

…

Stormy was coming out of her house after showering after training when she froze, The King was heading up the walk. "Mr. The King, what can I do for you?"

"I ran into your father down at the café he told me I could find you here. Mr. Tex is holding a charity race and I was wondering if you would be interested in participating."

"I've never won a race before, heck I never even placed top ten. My sponsor is probably one of the smallest sponsors you can find. Why would you want me to race?"

"Lightning posted the other day that you beat him at a street race." The King stated, arching an eyebrow at her.

"Dad's been training me hard, and I've came along way. Haven't been able to beat him yet, but neither has Lightning, so that's okay." Stormy shrugged.

"How does your dad know so much about racing? He was Lightning's Crew Chief, right?"

Stormy nodded, "I'm afraid that secret is one that Dad guards quite closely; you'll have to ask him. Just don't be surprised if he bites your head off." She headed down the path, pausing as she passed The King, "Why don't I treat you to lunch at the Café, and you can tell me more about this charity race that's happening."

…

Doc and Sunny were sipping on their drinks at the café when Stormy and The King entered the building. Flo smiled as she hurried over to them, her graying blonde hair coming loose from her braid. "Hi Sug, who's your date?"

"Flo, this is Strip Weathers, you probably know him as The King." Stormy stated, "Mr. The King, this is Flo, a family friend."

Soon they walked over to the table where Doc and Sunny were sitting. Doc looked up, "You made a quick recovery," he stated shaking hands with The King.

"Thank you Dr. Hudson," he turned to Sunny, "You must be Lightning's sister, you look just like him."

Sunny started to choke on her drink with that, "No, I'm Stormy's twin sister, we're just fraternal."

The King looked surprised; the young lady had looked so much like the rookie that he had assumed they were related.

Just then, Sally burst into the room, blonde hair flying, "Doc, Lightning collapsed!" she yelled, not caring about the dozen or so of tourists that jumped at the name of the famous race car driver. Doc leaped to his feet and rushed out the door with Sally, barking questions as fast as he could think them, and for a former race car driver that was fast and Sally couldn't keep up as she lead him back to her office at the Cozy Cone.

Doc crouched down next to him, "When did he collapsed?" he demanded as he started to check for a pulse.

"About five minutes ago," Sally stated, "When I couldn't revive him, I went to get you."

Doc nodded as he started to take the rookie's jacket off, "Foolish kid he'll die of heat exhaustion wearing this all the time." He muttered to himself, "Sally, get some ice."

Sally rushed off as Doc removed the jacket, only to discover an angry looking scar on his arm, "I'm supposed to be his doctor and I didn't know that that was there." He scolded himself.

Sally returned with an ice pack from the freezer near the front desk, heat exhaustion was a major problem during Arizona summers, so she always was prepared to treat it.

Soon Lightning was sitting up with Sally's help, sipping on a Gatorade. Doc checked him over to make sure that he wasn't going into shock before asking, "Can you tell me what he was doing when he passed out?"

Sally picked up the letter that Lightning had dropped and handed it to Doc, "He was reading this letter, I think it upset him."

Doc grabbed the letter and read about two lines of it before he suddenly grabbed the side of Sally's desk and announced, "I need to sit down."

Sally looked at Doc in alarm, and grabbed the letter. She quickly skimmed it. This couldn't be right.

…

 **A/N: Cliffy. I'm mean like that. So what was in that letter to Lightning? I tried to write them as Cars but I felt almost like they were wooden so I switched to humans.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I don't own Cars.**

 **…**

Chapter Two

 _Doc grabbed the letter and read about two lines of it before he suddenly grabbed the side of Sally's desk and announced, "I need to sit down."_

 _Sally looked at Doc in alarm, and grabbed the letter. She quickly skimmed it. This couldn't be right._

It was some sort of prank, probably something Mater thought up. Sally thought, trying to reason with herself. Then again Mater wouldn't have been able to pull something off like this. He didn't have the knowhow or connections. Chick Hicks maybe? He would do anything to get Lightning out of the racing circuit, but he didn't have access to that type of information. Radiator Springs guarded that secret very carefully.

She watched as Doc helped Lightning up and they started heading towards Doc's clinic, how would this affect their relationship. She knew that they had such a good relationship going that nothing might change, but then again everything could change.

Sheriff helped clear the way to the Clinic pushing through the mob of fans, luckily the citizens knew better than to try to get in the throng of fan girls wanting to snap a picture of the Lightning McQueen. The others would come around later, once the crowds were better under control.

"Let McQueen through," Sheriff barked, making his way through the crowd with as little force as possible. He groaned as Sarge helped him remove a fan that wasn't listening to his order to stay back. He needed to hire some more officers. He laughed at himself two weeks ago there wasn't much for one police officer to do; now he needed a team of officers. At least during the off season, when Lightning and Stormy where home. He didn't want to think about what would happen if everyone found out that Doc was the Fabulous Hudson Hornet how crazy the town would get.

He helped Doc get the Kid up onto his examination table. "What happened anyway?" Sheriff asked as Doc started checking Lightning's vitals.

"I got a letter from my mother. It was kind of shocking." Lightning admitted as Doc checked his temperature.

Sheriff nodded, "I'll let the others know that you're okay. Let me know if the tourists cause any problems."

Doc nodded, "Will do." he said as Sheriff left the building.

Lightning looked up at Doc before he asked, "Did you know about this?"

Doc looked at Lightning's quizzical expression; he was trying to figure out what he had done because he had cared and what he had done because he had felt obligated, "Let's just say I was as surprised with this little development as you were."

"I always wondered what my dad was like, especially after Mom's death. I just never imagined this." Lightning sighed, leaning back against the wall. "When I was little I used to imagine my dad finding me and taking me away from my stepfather."

Doc pulled up his stool and sat down, "This is the first time I ever heard you talk about your past."

"The only time you talked about your past was when you told me you were never going back to the racing world."

Doc frowned, this boy was bright, but then again that was what he had liked so much about his mother, how quick she was on firing back her own retort, just like her son, "As you know I disappeared from the racing world around forty years ago, ( **A/N: I know that it was fifty years ago in the movie but I shortened it a decade)** I was hurt and had nowhere to go so I went to school and became a doctor. I met my wife after I got a job at a large clinic out east. We got married and two years later had Stormy and Sunny."

Doc paused looking at Lightning, was he listening to him? Was it helping? He couldn't tell, but it looked like he was listening to him. He took a deep breath before continuing, "She was cleaning out the garage when she stumbled across my trophies, let's just say that that didn't end well."

Lightning nodded, he had heard Stormy mention something about her mother walking out on them when they were quite young, "I heard about that."

"I was hurt, foolish and stubborn, cost me from having a relationship with my son and the girls from knowing their mother." Doc finished, standing up from his stool.

"Mom died when I was four, they tried to explain it to me, but I was too young to understand. Now that I am old enough to understand I can't remember what they told me." Lightning said with a sigh, "I wonder how things would have been like if my parents never had broken up."

"A lot different, for starters you probably wouldn't have torn up my road if you were raised by your father." Doc said with his customary smirk.

Lightning laughed, yes he figures if he had been raised by his father he wouldn't have torn up the road, "Probably wouldn't have run away from home either." He said with a sigh.

That got Doc's attention, "Seems we have more in common than we originally thought. Granted I was a bit older than you are now when I left town. Couldn't stand all the reminders of what my life use to be like."

Lightning nodded, "I couldn't stand living with my stepfather and his brother anymore. So when I got my license and my own car I left, started street racing for money. Rusty and Dusty saw me racing and offered me a sponsorship. I've never looked back."

…

Strip Weathers watched as Sheriff forced the crowds away from the clinic where Doc Hudson and Lightning McQueen had disappeared. "Back now, Lightning needs peace and quiet. He is fine just back off!" He barked making a pushing motion with his hands as he forced the crowd back.

Strip Weathers quickly cleared his throat. "You better listen to the Sheriff there."

All the tourists stopped and turned around to stare at the famous racer, who gave them a look daring them to challenge him.

The tourists took one more look at him before dispersing to different parts of the small town. The King nodded to Sheriff as he entered the clinic, after asking permission to talk to Lightning.

Lightning was sitting up against the wall talking to Doc as the King entered the room. "I'm starting to think you like giving people heart attacks. First you tie with Chick and me with two blown tires, then you disappear for a week…"

"Best week of my life, for your information." Lightning interrupted.

The King laughed, this kid had heart, "I'm sure it was; what caused this little display of attention seeking?"

"I received a nasty shock. I never knew my father, but I never thought he would be a famous racer."

The King smiled, "If you can get a hold of him, Dinoco is hosting a charity race. Any former racer is welcome to participate if they like, and if it happens to be The Fabulous Hudson Hornet then we can expect to triple the expected donation estimation."

Doc dropped his stethoscope at this statement, now he would have to deal with Lightning pestering him into racing. Racing at Willie's Butte with Lightning and Stormy was one thing. Hiding in the Pit box during the race while giving Lightning instructions was fine, nobody could recognize him up there, especially without his jacket on.

Lightning shot him a hopeful look. Would he reveal his true identity? That would be amazing. Doc shook his head at him; no he would not reveal that he was the Fabulous Hudson Hornet.

The King quickly told Lightning about the race before leaving.

After he left, Lightning looked at Doc, "Come on, you know you want to race again. Come on Doc, please? Please. It would be amazing to race against you in a real race setting."

Doc sighed, "I'll think about it, Hot Rod, but don't get your hopes up."

Lightning looked at him, "You know, if anyone was to be my father, I'm glad it's you."

Doc laughed, "So am I son, so am I."

…

 **A/N: Done. In this no one recognized Doc when he arrived at the race as Lightning's Crew Chief.**


	3. Chapter 3

Cars 3

 **A/N: Some of you seem to think that I am done, but I'm not. I got a lot plan for Lightning.**

…

Lightning nodded his head absentmindedly at Mater as he prattled on about, he wasn't quite sure what he was talking about, and he was certain that Mater didn't know what he was talking about either.

"That's nice Mater." He said absentmindedly as he entered his house located just off Main Street. He had gained possession of the building when he had first officially moved into the town after his last race. That was the nice part about moving to a place that was basically a ghost town, there were plenty of homes that he could choose from.

He groaned as he turned on the light to his bedroom. He just wasn't feeling like himself.

After Doc had released him from the clinic that afternoon, he had gone to dinner at the restaurant at the Wheel Well Motel with Sally. Even though it was a nice place with amazing food he had found that he had hardly any appetite. Sally had understood he had suffered from heat exhaustion and a nasty shock as well and was probably still trying to process it.

With that in mind he had agreed to go out with Mater to go searching for the Ghost Light, figuring that that would distract him from the fact that Doc was his father. After never knowing who his father was and never really having a father figure in his life before it seemed ironic that when he finally found a father figure it turned out to be his actual father. Though if he thought about it at all he have to agree that he was glad Doc was his father and not someone else.

However he started to feel a light pain in his stomach while he was busy running around the desert, trying to scare Mater. At first it had been easy to ignore but as the night went on the pain became more and more intense. All he wanted to do was go to bed and hope that the pain would go away by itself before morning.

…

Sally was having a hard time sleeping; no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't get comfortable. She was worried about Lightning. The revelation that Doc was his father had really shaken him, not that the famous racecar driver would admit that.

She slowly rolled out of bed, checking the clock next to it as she did so; it was still relatively early, only around eleven o'clock. Most of the residents of the small town would have headed home awhile ago. Only a few tourists might be out looking for something to do but for the most part they understood that they were a small town where everything closed down around ten o'clock each night.

Sally sighed, it was a full moon out tonight; maybe she should take Lightning out for a moonlight stroll and let him talk about his true feelings about the day's events, away from any possible tourist who would take it to the press.

She frowned; all of Lightning's lights were off, even the one in his bedroom upstairs. That couldn't be right; she had heard him and Mater coming back from whatever those two boys did after dark a little while ago. There was no way he was in bed already. Unless something was terribly wrong.

She quickly went to the front door, checking to see if it was locked, it wasn't. She quickly entered the house and bounded up the stairs two steps at a time.

She found Lightning curled up on his side, obviously in pain. "Stickers," she called out, "where does it hurt?"

Lightning groaned in pain, "Get Doc."

Sally sat up, scrambling up to her feet, "Okay, I'll be right back." she told him as she hurried out of the house.

…

Doc was just heading to bed when there was a loud pounding on his front door. The problem with being a small town doctor was that he was the only one for miles around should something come up during the night.

He quickly threw a robe over his pajamas and went to open the door to find Sally standing there, her blonde hair flying all over the place, "I'm sorry to have disturbed you Doc, but something's wrong with Lightning."

Doc didn't even stop to think; he grabbed his medical bag from its spot by the door and hurried outside, barking questions to Sally as he went. By the time he got to his son's house he had a good idea at what was wrong.

He knelt by his son and asked him where it hurt; the answer confirmed his suspicion, he had appendicitis.

"We need to get him to the hospital." He told Sally.

Sally gave him a look of surprise, "But the closest hospital is an hour away."

"Then we better hurry." Doc insisted.

…

Lightning moaned as he slowly opened his eyes, only to blink in confusion as he found Doc staring down at him.

"Hi," he said softly.

Doc smiled, "How you feeling?"

"Like I just crashed into Radiator Springs again." Lightning stated half heartedly.

Doc laughed, "Well, seeing as you just woke up from surgery I can understand that." with that Doc stood up from the uncomfortable chair he was sitting on, "I'll call the others and let them know that you're okay."

Lightning slowly sat up a little bit, "Doc, don't let the press find out about this. I don't feel up to having microphones shoved up my face right now."

Doc nodded, "I'm sure I can figure something out. Don't worry, and stay down, Try to get some sleep."

…

 **A/N: It's short I know but I will update soon. I hope. Please review.**


	4. Chapter 4

Cars 4:

Lightning leaned against Stormy's trailer, watching Stormy do one last check on her car before she loaded it up.

"Upset that Dad won't let you race?" Sunny asked leaning against the trailer next to her younger brother.

"A little, I wanted to participate, but he has good reasons. He wants me to be fully healed before I get back on the track."

Sunny nodded, "What do you think about Stormy racing without you?"

Lightning shrugged, "She's a Hudson, just like me and Dad; racing's in her blood," he glanced at Sunny, "just like it is with you."

"Just because I'm a Hudson doesn't mean I want to climb into a car and drive around in circles at ridicules speeds." Sunny stated, rolling her blue eyes in an annoyed fashion.

"Why's that? Come on; tell me, why don't you like racing?"

"I just don't care for racing," Sunny snapped, "Or driving in general, I guess it just was something that I picked up from Dad over the years."

"Sorry," Lightning frowned; he forgot that Sunny had their dad's temper to some point, "Do you know how Dad was able to keep the press from finding out about my trip to the hospital?"

Sunny burst out laughing, "It's so simple, I'm surprised you didn't know; he checked you in under your biological name."

"Paul Montgomery Hudson," Lightning muttered, "I've thought about changing it back to that, get rid of my stepfather's name. But Lightning Hudson doesn't sound as cool as Lightning McQueen and my fans would be confused by the name change."

"You can keep your last name if you want." Sunny offered, "Then when something comes up and you want some privacy you can just drop the McQueen part."

Lightning nodded his head, glancing over at his older sister, "You're smart, you know that right, Sunny?"

Just then Doc appeared his hands on his hips, "If the two of you are coming with Stormy and me to the race in New York you better get in The Hornet now or I'll leave without you."

…

Lightning was sitting in the passenger seat of The Hornet; he still couldn't believe that he was in _The Hudson Hornet_. Doc never let him so much of breathe on it while they were training. He looked out the window. He never truly realized how far New York was from Arizona. It was their second day on the road, and it was already two in the morning.

In the back seat, Sunny groaned, she was getting a stiff neck from trying to sleep sitting up, "How much longer?"

"We have just a little bit over an hour before we get to our hotel," Doc responded, glancing at the girls in the backseat through the rearview mirror, before devoting his attention back to the road in front of him.

"If you want, I can drive for a while," Lightning offered.

Doc snorted, "The day I let you drive The Hornet is the day I want it to crash."

Lightning started to sputter, honestly the way Doc was talking you would think that Lightning was a fifteen-year-old who just got his driver's license, not a famous racecar driver.

Doc just laughed at the look on his son's face. It was bright red as Lightning tried to think of a comeback.

…

Lightning stretched his legs out in front of him as he leaned against the outer wall of the track. Doc had gone with Stormy to register her for the race. Sunny had opted to stay in the hotel room and do some studying for her online classes. Lightning still didn't understand why she would come all this way and not hang out at the track was beyond him.

"Hey, Lightning," a voice called out, causing the rookie to look around, The King and his nephew Cal Weathers, who had signed on with Dinoco after his uncle's retirement.

"Hey, Mr. The King." Lightning said, standing up straight so that he could shake his hand.

"I saw Stormy over at the registration table with her old man," The King stated, "I'm surprised you aren't with them."

"Yeah, Doc hasn't cleared me to race yet. I had an appendectomy last week, and Doc says I need to take it easy for three weeks before I can start racing again. It took a lot of convincing to convince him to let me tag along here."

"You should have seen him, he got on his knees and was begging Dad in front of a whole bunch of tourists." A new voice spoke up, Stormy had returned.

"Where's Doc?" Lightning asked, even though he knew that Doc was his father, he still hadn't started calling him dad yet.

"Sunny called, she needed help with something, and Dad went to see what he could do," Stormy stated.

The racecar drivers were talking for a while when Sunny finally showed up, panting. She turned to Lightning, "Just for your information, the best way to get Dad to do something is to give him a long list of reasons not to do it."

"What are you talking about?" Lightning demanded, obviously confused.

Before Suny could explain her odd statement, Junior came running up, his face pale as if he had seen a ghost, "You would never believe who just entered the race." He gasped.

Mr. The King sighed, running a hand over his face, "Let me guess, Chick Hicks, trying to figure out a way to improve his standing with the public."

Junior shook his head no, only to change to nodding his head yes, "Well yes, but that's not what I meant. He entered the race," he grabbed the closest person to him, which happened to be Sunny, he gave her a quick shake, "The Hudson Hornet entered the race!"

Sunny broke free after that, turning to her siblings, "See, that's what I'm talking about. Chick got a little too fresh with me and Dad said something about teaching him a lesson he could understand."

"The only thing Chick understands is the race track." Lightning pointed out

"Dad used to say that if you mess with a Hudson you got stung by the Hornet," Stormy added.

"I know that," Lightning snapped, "I've been stung multiple times."

The other racers looked at the siblings with confusion, what did the Fabulous Hudson Hornet have to do with the girls' father wanting to get Chick to leave Sunny alone.

Just then the Fabulous Hudson Hornet approached, "There you kids are," he addressed his children.

Lightning looked at him with his mouth agape, he never saw his father in his old racing jacket. It had transformed him, he no longer was a grouchy old doctor, judge, and racing expert. He was now the world's greatest racer, ready to race again.

"Hi, Dad," Lightning said as if it was totally normal to be called a kid by a racing legend.

"Hi Hot Shot, staying out of trouble, I hope," Doc stated, giving Lightning a hard look.

"Why is it, Dad, that you always assume that I am the one causing trouble?"

"Because in the past few months that I knew you, you caused more trouble than your sisters did combine in the past twenty years."

Sunny and Stormy both snorted with laughter, as Lightning sputtered trying to come up with a proper comeback, and The King looked confused.

"You know them?" He asked Doc.

"I hope I know my own kids," Doc replied roughly.

Understanding dawned on The King, "When McQueen here told me his father was a famous race car driver, he was talking about you, wasn't he?"

Doc nodded, before stating, "Sit down before you pass out boy."

The others couldn't help it, The King had always been their Senior Companion, the one they all went to for advice, to hear anyone call him boy was unheard of, even if the person was old enough to be his father, they all burst out laughing, hard.

…

 _"Is there anything I can say to change your mind?" Smokey asked his younger brother, who quickly shook his head._

 _"I'm leaving Smokey, and there isn't anything you can do about it," Doc said his voice firm in the decision._

 _"But Hud, you're the only family I have left. What am I suppose to do?"_

 _"I'm Sorry, there isn't anything left for me here except memories, painful ones at that."_

…

Smokey was woken up by the telephone the dream fading away quickly if only the pain that the memory brought would fade as quickly as the dream. He should have tried harder, fought those Piston Cup officials to give his brother another chance, fought Hud and prevent him from leaving. He should have done something more.

He moaned as the phone continued to ring. He grabbed the handset next to him and looked at the caller id, Arizona. He groaned, answering it, it might be a telemarketer, or it could be an out of town customer having car troubles, "Smokey Hudson of Smokey Hudson Garage, how might I help you?"

"Smokey, it's me, Hud," Smokey couldn't be certain, but he thought he heard someone chock back a laugh in the background. He must have because Hud said, "Laugh all you want Stormy; I could always tell people that your real name is Anastasia Rose and that you go by Rosie."

Smokey had forgotten how to talk, he kept opening and closing his mouth, but no sound could come out, until finally, "Hud," just as a whisper, then he pulled the phone away from his ear as he shouted, "Paul Murdock Hudson, where in the world have you been all these years? It's been forty years for crying out loud, are you hurt?"

Over the phone his little brother laughed, "Smokey, slow down I can't keep up, I'm fine, I'm in New York at the moment, my daughter Stormy and I are participating in a charity race. I've been living in Radiator Springs with my children."

"Radiator Springs, that sounds familiar," Smokey grumbled.

"It's the hometown of Lightning McQueen."

"Lightning McQueen, that's it, he disappears off the face of the earth and then is found a week later in Radiator Springs." Smokey paused for a moment, "Man, next time a racer disappears they should save time and just check Radiator Springs first off."

Doc laughed, "As long as the next racer who comes through doesn't turn out to be my long-lost son, I'm good. One long-lost son is one too many."

Smokey could have sworn he heard an indignant, "Hey," in the background.

Smokey nodded, "Hey if you ever come this way, be sure to stop by and visit."

"I'll think about it," Doc assured his older brother before hanging up.

Smokey quickly hung up and hurried to the pub; he barely had enough to get there before the race started, and he was not going to miss his baby brother's first race in forty years.

…

 **A/N: Do you want the Hudson family to visit where Doc grew up, or not? Either they will go to Thomasville or Smokey will go to Radiator Springs. Let me now what you want. Please review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Well SkyTalon, you are the only one who wanted Smokey to visit Radiator Springs, so it looks like Hud's coming home for a visit. Although I do like your idea that Smokey grinned like an idiot about hearing from Doc until he realized he mentioned Kids.**

…

 _Previously on Family:_

 _Doc laughed, "As long as the next racer who comes through doesn't turn out to be my long-lost son, I'm good. One long-lost son is one too many."_

 _Smokey could have sworn he heard an indignant, "Hey," in the background._

 _Smokey nodded, "Hey if you ever come this way, be sure to stop by and visit."_

 _"I'll think about it," Doc assured his older brother before hanging up._

 _Smokey quickly hung up and hurried to the pub; he barely had enough to get there before the race started, and he was not going to miss his baby brother's first race in forty years._

… Chapter five…

Junior, Lou, and River stared in shock as Smokey came barreling in and turned the television onto the racing channel.

"What's gotten into you Smokey?" Junior asked.

"You never watch the racing channel." River stated.

"Are you feeling okay?" Lou asked.

Smokey ignored them all, they had just zoomed in on the racers as they prepared to climb into their cars, the announcer was saying as they zoomed in on an older looking man, "And there he is, the cause of all the rumors flying around the racetrack this week, the Fabulous Hudson Hornet, number 51, Paul Hudson. Nobody has seen him in forty years, and he just shows up for this race."

"You know Darrel; some say that he was Lightning's mysterious crew chief at his last race. There is even a rumor going around that he is not only Stormy Hudson's father but Lightning's as well." Bob stated in awe.

The commentary got the old racers attentions, there were several of, "is that Hud?" and "Do you think he'll win?"

Smokey answered rather proudly the last question, "Of course he'll win, have you ever seen him lose?"

Smokey's prediction was wrong, Hud came in second, Stormy past him in the final stretch winning her first ever race, too bad it was just a charity race.

…

To say that Chick Hicks was upset was an understatement, he was downright furious, McQueen hadn't even participated in the race and he still stole the spotlight. Honestly losing the race to a wannabe and a couple of Has-beens. He just couldn't believe it. Plus McQueen got a lot of press time because everyone found out that the Fabulous Hudson Hornet had been his crew chief at their last race. It's not like it did him any good, he still lost the race to him. Yet who had gotten the hero treatment, McQueen, and who had gotten booed at, he had.

He stormed into the lobby of the hotel where he was staying and headed straight for the bar, he needed a drink to calm himself down.

As he slipped into a bar stool an older gentleman sat down next to him, "Ungrateful brat," he muttered to himself as he sat down next to Chick, he turned to him, "You'd think that now that he's rich and famous he could pay us back for raising him, but no he pretends we don't even exist."

"You're telling me, McQueen thinks he's so much better than the rest of us because his crew chief is the so-called 'Fabulous' Hudson Hornet."

"McQueen," the other man snorted, "He's too soft for the racing world, my brother tried to get him to man up as a child, especially after his mother's death. He should have dumped him at the orphanage like I told him to. But did he listen to me, no, and did the kid care about the disadvantage he put on him. Of course not, he ran away and became a racer, not even thinking about the financial burden my brother had to deal with raising him all by himself."

Chick nodded, "Seems like we don't like the same person."

"I probably wouldn't hate him so much if I hadn't been saddled with all of his father's bills. He makes enough money to pay them off, why should I have to worry about them?"

An idea was blossoming in Chick's mind, the kind that you had to plan very carefully to avoid spending the rest of your life in prison, "I have an idea, how about we meet in my room and discuss a business partnership.

…

Lightning frowned, Doc was sitting on the couch in the suite that the Hudson family was staying in, just staring at the TV. It was on the racing channel, which was running a program called Glory Days, a show about former racers days on the race track. Growing up it had been his favorite show, he looked up to all the former racing legends, especially the Fabulous Hudson Hornet. Knowing what he did now, he found it kind of ironic.

"I use to love this show growing up," Lightning spoke up, sitting down next to his father, just far enough away to be out of easy hitting range, just in case he hadn't wanted him to join him.

"I never even knew it existed," Doc grunted, "I wonder what garbage they say about me on it."

Lightning smirked, that had been his favorite episode, "Your episode is called, 'The Fabulous Hudson Hornet, the Mystery of the Racing World.'"

"Why in the world would they call it that?" Doc grunted.

"Because you disappeared off the face of the earth at the peak of your career. Nobody seemed to know why you left or where you had gone."

"You know why," Doc growled, causing Lightning to jump off the couch and scurry, almost frantically, away from him.

"Yes," he said hesitantly, "I know why now because you told me why, but nobody else knows the truth."

Doc nodded, frowning, noting how Lightning had jumped off the couch and moved away from him. He had to admit that he had sounded grumpy, but why did Lightning react that way, as if he had been scared that he might get yelled at or hit or something.

Sometimes his son's behavior didn't make sense to him, he wished he had been involved in his life before now, then maybe he wouldn't have to wonder why simple things like a conversation could trigger such bizarre reactions. He would also know what had caused that scar on his arm.

That scar, Doc couldn't get it out of his head since he saw it. It was obvious that Lightning had done his best to hide it from everybody; hide it from him. But why? Why hide something as simple as a scar, was he embarrassed by it? If so how had he got it? And why did he refuse to open up about his past?

Doc shook his head, he had an answer for the last part, he was too much like his old man, there was something in his son's past that he wanted to forget, and therefore he would rather it not be brought up at all, just like him. Funny, how much alike the two of them are, many people would probably use the age-old saying like father like son, yet he had no part once so ever in his son's life until this point.

He wished he had, then these questions that kept swirling around his mind wouldn't be there. He wouldn't have to wonder about what his childhood was like, what he liked to do besides race. Things would be so much easier if he knew more about his son, but how do you get someone to talk about something they didn't want to talk about?

Lightning had gotten him to talk about his past, but that was only after he had found out about it by himself. Doc wasn't sure what was going on with Lightning, but he had a good idea, "How would you like to go with me to see where I grew up, there's an old race track there, where I won my first race. You also have an uncle, my older brother; I'm sure that he would love to meet you. Wouldn't be surprised if a few of my old racing friends are there also."

Lightning stared in wonder at Doc, to see the place where it all started, that would be amazing, "Yeah, sure," he shrugged, he didn't want to sound too excited about it.

"Great, we can take a detour on the way home and spend the weekend in Thomasville."

…

While Lightning and Doc planned their trip to Thomasville Chick was busy getting chummy with Lightning's uncle Milton McQueen. They both hated the young racer and were hatching a plan to get rid of him.

"As far as I can see," Chick stated, "all of our troubles are caused by Lightning McQueen, so if we get rid of the kid, we won't have to worry about it anymore. You'll get the money you need, and I'll regain my status as one of the best racers in history."

Milton nodded his head, "What are you suggesting?"

"We make Lightning disappear long enough that he loses his sponsorship, and then we hold him for ransom to pay your brother's expenses off."

"We have to be careful; if anyone ever figures out that we're behind it, we'll end up spending the rest of our lives in jail."

Chick chuckled, "Don't worry, we'll hire people out to do all the hard stuff for us, kidnapping and holding him prisoner, they don't even need to know who hired them. That way if the plan does go south on us, they can't trace it back to us."

The two men smiled evil grins as they started to plot their first move.

…

 **A/N: Man Lightning better watch out, this new friend of Chick's looks like it spells trouble for Lightning. Please review.**


	6. Chapter 6

Family chapter Six:

Lightning was sleeping when he felt the car stop, jarring him awake, "What's going on?" He asked groggily.

"Are we having car trouble?" Sunny asked.

"Why did we stop, we just past a sign that said Thomasville three miles," Stormy stated pointing back the way they had come.

Doc simply chuckled, "You're right, we are almost there, but I thought you guys would like to see my sign, seeing as we drive past the two of you every time we enter the town."

Lightning looked at what he was pointing at; there on a weatherworn billboard was a picture of Doc in front of his Hornet with the captions, "Thomasville, Home of the Famous Hudson Hornet."

Lightning gasped as he stared at the sign, seeing a picture of his father at his age was enlightening, he had a lot of his father's looks, "Wow."

Sunny pulled out her Phone, "Let's take a selfie in front of the sign." She suggested.

Lightning smiled as Sunny showed him the poster, seeing all three of them together he could see the family resemblance; it was remarkable that no one in Radiator Springs had noticed how much Lightning truly did look like Doc.

Soon they were pulling up to an older looking hotel in a town that looked stuck in the nineteenth century. It was around dinner time, "I guess the only place to go is to the pub for dinner," Doc said, running a hand through his hair, he knew that his old pals would be meeting there soon to past some time away in good company.

…

Lou, River, Junior, and Smokey were at the Pub enjoying a dinner together when Lou asked, "Have you heard anything from Hud since the race, Smokey?"

Smokey shook his head slowly, "My brother breaks his forty year vow of silence to tell me he's racing and that he might come visit but he might not. He won't tell me anything."

River was staring past Smokey to a group that had just entered the Pub, his face was one of pure shock. Junior noticed this, "What are you looking at, River?" he asked glancing at were River was staring; soon he too had a dumbstruck look on his face. Lou looked at where the boys had looked and a huge smile plastered on her face as she saw someone approach their table.

By now Smokey had noticed the strange looks on his companions faces, "What's going on, you guys look like you've seen a ghost."

"That's cause we have," Lou stated, "The ghost of racing past."

Before Smokey could answer his friend a voice behind him stated, "Very funny Lou," which caused him to whirl around and find himself face to face with his younger brother for the first time in forty years.

"Are you trying to scare me to death?" Smokey demanded, glaring his brother down.

"No I figured I'll surprise you, wondered what it would be like to see the star-struck looks I got from my kids' companions on people I actually know," Doc said, it almost looked like he smirked when he said it.

Smokey groaned, "You keep mentioning kids, Hud, when are you going to introduce them to their uncle?"

Just then there was a flash of a camera going off, and a female voice stated, "Just so you know, I'm posting this."

Doc looks at his older brother, before staring at the redhead, "Savannah Grace Hudson, how many times do I have to tell you, please warn me before you take a picture."

Sunny shrugged, "I wanted a natural look."

Doc nodded at her, "This is my oldest, Sunny," he told his older brother, "and then this," with that he nodded towards Stormy, "is her twin sister, Stormy." He paused for a second before nodding towards Lightning, "My youngest is a pain in the neck at times, probably should recognize him from the news."

"Hey, I try not to be," Lightning insisted.

Doc smiled at his son, "I know son, I know, but it doesn't mean that you aren't a handful."

…

It was the other day around noon that Smokey and Doc found some time alone together, the others had taken Lightning, Stormy, and Sunny on a tour of the town, leaving Smokey and Doc alone to catch up with each other.

"I thought you said you never were coming back."

Doc ducked his head, "I did, but sometimes you do things you don't want to do to help a child in need."

"Oh," Smokey stated.

"It's my son, I'm worried about him," Doc paused to think for a moment, "I worry about all my kids, I guess it's just part of being a father, but I worry about Lightning the most, I don't know why, one moment he acts like any kid his eyes, the next moment he acts like a deer in the headlights, like he expects me to hit him or something."

Smokey nodded his head, he had a feeling that he was going to get to know a lot more about his nieces and nephew a lot better.

"I raised the girls by myself after the divorce, my wife just walked out on me. I didn't even know about Lightning until he crashed into our town a couple of months ago. I didn't know he was my son until a couple of weeks ago, and since then all I've done is worry about him.

"I think his stepfather abused him. He has a scar on his arm that he won't tell me how he got. He just sometimes acts like he expects me to hit him or something." Doc shook his head, "Stormy and Sunny I understand, I know them and I can help them. Stormy just needs to believe in herself, her win at the race last week would help her a lot. Sunny just needs to figure out what she wants to do in life, it's a hard decision and she has to make it on her own."

"Sounds like your kids are lucky to have you as a father."

…across the country…

Several hundred miles from where Doc and Smokey talked, Jax received an anonymous phone call. Jax was in the retrieval business, he retrieved things for people, nothing legal of course, there wasn't anything fun about that.

"This is Jax," he stated happily into the phone.

"I have a job for you, a pest that needs to be taken care of," a voice said gruffly.

This got Jax's attention, kidnappings were a dangerous business, "What's in it for me?" he asked.

"A hundred grand," was the reply.

Jax smiled, that was a good chunk of change, "What type of pest?"

"Racer goes by Lightning."

Jax smiled, "Lightning McQueen," he had heard of him.

"Yes, we need him to disappear long enough for him to be replaced, after that we will ransom him, and from there you can do what you want with him."

Jax nodded, "I want a ten grand in advanced, and then half once I pull it off, you can give me the rest when the job is finished."

"Don't worry, this will be worth your time."

Jax smiled, wondering when he could begin.

…Thomasville…

Doc didn't want to leave, something he knew the others felt too, but he had a business to run and they really should be headed home sooner rather than later. He watched as his children said goodbye, they all looked tired. Doc shook his head, Smokey and the others had taken them on a Moonshine race the night before, something he was sure Lightning would introduce to Mater back at home. Something else the can do to nearly get themselves killed.

He smiled as his children piled into the hornet, this is what a father wants to see, his children happy and healthy, he just hopes it would stay that way.

…

 **A/N: short I know, but things are happening.**


	7. Chapter 7

Cars seven:

Lightning was just leaving his house, Sunny following close behind. They had returned home from Thomasville only the night before and Sunny was helping him unpack. He hadn't even realized that he had brought so much stuff with him until it was time to unpack it all. Sunny, living up to her name, had insisted on following him around talking a mile a minute.

Just then a little boy approached shyly, holding up a small notebook, "Can I have your autograph, please?"

His mother quickly grabbed his hand, "Bobby you can't just ask him for an autograph."

Lightning shook his head, "It's okay Ma'am, it's no trouble," he said, taking the paper and pen that was offered him, "If you want Stormy's autograph I think she's over at the Cozy Cone and Doc's over in the Clinic."

The little boy's eyes lit up, "Do you think they'll sign my book too?"

Lightning laughed, "Of course they will, as long as you ask nicely."

As Bobby and his mother quickly hurried off with a quick thank you, a middle-aged man approached, "I'm glad to see some of the manners that my brother tried teaching you actually got through that thick head of yours."

Sunny noticed how her little brother suddenly went stiff, she was going to have to intervene, the last thing Lightning needed was to make the news for having a fist fight in the middle of the street. "How do you know Lightning?" she asked, politely.

"Monty here is my nephew; I helped his father raise him after his mother died."

Sunny threw an arm around his shoulder, "Well, seeing as you are here, Dad would love to talk to you, seeing as you helped raise my brother."

Lightning smiled, saved by Sunny, "Take him over to Lizzy, I'm sure he'd love to hear the stories she tells."

Sunny beamed back at him, "Great idea, I'll do that."

As Sunny left with Milton, Sally arrived with Sheriff, "what was that about."

Lightning put his hands in his pockets, "That was my stepfather's brother; Sunny just saved me from making a scene."

Sheriff nodded, "He seemed to upset you quite a bit there, sonny. What happened? Who is he?"

"He's my stepfather's brother," Lightning said before twisting his arm around so that they could see the scar on it, "He gave me this scar when I was eight."

Sheriff stiffened, "Do you have a restraining order if you do I'll gladly escort him out of town for you."

Lightning shook his head, "When I left a year ago, I didn't think I'll see him again, I never bothered with one."

Sally grabbed Lightning arm, noting how he instinctively jerked away, "I think that we should talk to your dad about this."

…

Doc looked at his son, who was standing there, scuffing his toe in the dirt like some sort of little kid caught breaking a window while playing baseball, "Can you tell me what's going on Son," he asked kindly.

"My stepfather's brother is here and we don't really get along," Lightning muttered.

Doc nodded, concern in his eyes would Lightning open up about his past to him now, "I see, does this dispute have anything to do with that scar you won't tell me how you got." He already knew the answer, Sally had informed him when she told him that he was needed at the courthouse.

Lightning nodded, but kept his eyes down, not wanting to meet his father's eyes.

Doc gently cupped Lightning's chin and lifted his head, "You ain't got nothing to be ashamed of Son. If anyone should be ashamed it should be Milton McQueen, harming a child is a serious thing Lightning. It was never your fault."

Lightning nodded, "They told me it was my fault. They told me that I was a weak, pathetic Mama's boy that needed to toughen up and take it like a man."

Doc took a deep breath, counting to ten, having the town's doctor murder someone in the middle of the street was probably a bad idea, "being a loving and caring person doesn't make you weak. If you ask me it makes you stronger. It gives you good and true friends and a whole town that is proud of you."

Lightning nodded his head, "They told me that caring about others was a weakness that I needed to get rid of. I tried, but I couldn't help but care for everyone here. You guys showed me what I real family was like."

"A real Family protects each other and takes care of each other," Doc said, "I'm issuing you a restraining order that will prevent him from coming into town or to get to close to you."

…

Milton couldn't believe that the female brat had dragged him over to talk to the oldest person he ever met. At least he got the information that he needed, he knew which house was the royal brat's. Just then a man appeared, wearing a police uniform.

"Good day Officer," he said cheerfully, there wasn't any reason for him to be alarmed.

That was until Sheriff spoke, "I am to escort you out of town, Judge's orders."

"Did I do anything wrong?" Milton asked he had been so careful, surely they hadn't figured out what he had planned.

Sheriff nodded his head, "Paul Montgomery Hudson-McQueen filed for a restraining order against you. Our judge granted him one without question."

"Let me get this straight, Lightning McQueen told his father he doesn't like me so his father issued him a restraining order. That doesn't seem fair to me, don't you think?"

"You have two options here, Either get out of town by sundown or I'll talk the Hudsons into pressing charges against you for child abuse."

"Fine," Milton snapped, getting up from where he had been sitting, "I'm leaving, don't worry, I don't want trouble."

…

Outside town, at the Wheel Well Motel, Jax checked in with one of his many names. He would spend the week here doing his job, before returning happily to his old family cabin that was out in the middle of nowhere, where he lived off the radar.

As he entered his room he smiled, the ten grand he wanted in advance was on his bed, waiting for him, an address was written on the complementary notepad that all hotels had on the nightstands. He didn't dare do it tonight. People would be suspicious of anyone who had shown up in the past twenty-four hours before the crime. Especially in a small town like this.

He would have to hang low, keep a low profile, make contact with McQueen and the others, but not so much that it raised eyebrows. He knew what he was doing, after all, he was a professional.

Now that he was there, he needed to find a place to hide the target once he got it. Somewhere close by, he didn't want to leave to soon after the kidnapping, but somewhere they never would think to look.

He found the perfect place when he found an old homestead that was abandoned and falling apart, some innocent questions around town revealed that nobody knew of any buildings in that general area, meaning that it had been abandoned since before the interstate was built. The perfect place to hide someone that you don't want to be found.

Now all he had to do was wait for the perfect opportunity to grab McQueen without getting caught.

…

It was dark out when Jax slipped out of his room and looked around the parking lot, none of these cars would do, he didn't want it being traced back here. He got into his car and slowly drove into town without lights on, taking a detour to prevent him from being caught by the sheriff.

In town, he carefully picked a car from the Cozy Cone Hotel to do the job in. A hotshot like McQueen could very well have security cameras and he was going to be certain that they didn't get anything to go on. Here he donned a fat suit and shoes with stack soles to make it so that the description if they get a description, wouldn't match up with his. He quickly donned a ski mask and gloves before breaking into one of the cars and hotwiring it.

Across town, Lightning was sound asleep, as anyone would expect from anyone in a small town at three in the morning. He, however, did wake up when he heard one of the stairs squeak. He got out of bed and grabbed his phone, dialing the first number that came to mind.

"What do you want Lightning," Sheriff's gruff voice filtered through the phone, Lightning had woke him up.

"Someone's in my house, I heard footsteps."

"You sure that it isn't your imagination?"

Just then the door creaked open, "Imaginations don't open doors."

Sheriff still wasn't to convince, but if something happened to that boy he knew that he would have the wrath of the Hudson family on his head, "It probably some overzealous fan trying to get a picture of you sleeping or Mater playing some sort of prank. I'll be there in a minute, keep whoever it is talking. There's a law against trespassing."

Lightning hung up as a dark figure loomed over him, he was a tall man, at least six two, and was heavy set. He was dressed all in black. Even his hands and face were covered. Lightning knew right away that it wasn't Mater, and he doubted that it was a fan, "I've called the sheriff and I must warn you, my girlfriend is the town attorney and my father's the judge so it won't look good for you if you try anything."

The man didn't say anything, he just pulled out a handkerchief that had been soaked in Chloroform and shoved it in Lightning's face. Lightning hearing him and calling for help was not part of the plan, he had to work fast.

Once Lightning was unconscious he hurriedly stuffed him into the trunk of the stolen car. Time was running out, he could hear the sheriff's sirens getting louder. He quickly closed the door of the trunk and slipt back into the house.

Sheriff stopped in front of Lightning's house and quickly jotted down information on the car that was illegally parked in front of the house. He sighed, it wasn't Mater pulling a prank then, so what foolhardy tourist thought it would be fun to break into a house in the middle of the night.

He hurried into the house, concern suddenly spiking for Lightning's safety, he should be able to hear him shouting at the intruder, and he knew Lightning would. Why wasn't he shouting? Before he could get an answer something big, tall, and dark slammed into him, knocking him down hard.

By the time Sheriff got back up the figure was out of sight, having driven off in the car. He shook his head if he had a deputy he would have him chase the car while he checked the house. As it was he will have to find the car later. He needed to make sure that Lightning was okay.

…

 **A/N: Sorry for it being so long, writers block, hope you enjoy.**


	8. Chapter 8

Family 8:

Sheriff had been up since three in the morning, and he was absolutely exhausted. After going through the house and noting that Lightning was not there he had looked into the car that he had found parked outside his house, only to discover that it had been stolen and later abandoned.

He had been the lucky soul to knock on Doc Hudson's door and explain to him that his son had been kidnapped from his own house. Doc, understandably, hadn't been happy about that.

"I bet Milton McQueen has something to do with it," Sunny stated, her blue eyes flashing. Sheriff almost felt sorry for the perp, there was a reason Stormy was called Stormy and Sunny wasn't all sunshine either, and Doc was a whole different person when it came to his children, especially his son.

"I'll call the state police and see if we can't locate him," Sheriff stated.

…

While Sheriff tried to figure out a suspect, Lightning was struggling against his bonds in an old abandoned building. "You know you made a big mistake when you kidnapped me," he told his host, he was slim and not quite six feet tall.

"Is that so," Jax asked, not at all concerned, he was, after all only in it for the money.

Lightning nodded, "Dad will find me!" he insisted, Doc had to find him, he said he cared about him.

"The town Doctor? You honestly think the town's doctor can find you when you are hundreds of miles away from him." Jax said, it was a lie, but there was no way Lightning would know that.

Lightning smirked, "You do know that Hudson's are known for their tempers. Dad's notorious for his and there is a reason Stormy is Stormy and well, Sunny ain't so Sunny when you get her mad."

"Look, Kid, try all you want I'm not going to let you go, I have a hundred grand on the line."

Lightning sighed, he had hoped that he could scare him into letting him go, "So who hired you, Milton or Chick?"

"In my business, you don't ask questions," Jax snapped.

…

Sunny was going through the records of everyone who was currently staying at both the Cozy Cone and the Wheel Well, "I found something interesting, Milton McQueen was checked in at the Wheel Well, not even an hour after he left it was rented out by a fellow named Bryce Snow. The hotel was completely full, it would have been the only room available."

"Milton asked about it," Sally suddenly recalled, "He asked how many rooms were available and I said we were booked solid all week. Of course, he had been planning to stay for the week back then."

Sunny nodded, "He also didn't want to wait for us to clean the room, he asked if he could put his stuff in there before we could clean it."

Sheriff nodded his head, I'll talk to him and see what he did last night."

…

Lightning was stiff, bored, and hungry when the door to the old house opened and none other than Milton McQueen showed up. "Huh, you really are pathetic, can't even prevent yourself from being kidnapped."

"So you were the one behind this," Lightning said, "I should have known."

"Yes, hiring Jax was my idea, but I wouldn't have been able to pull it off if it wasn't for Chick Hicks monetary contribution."

Lightning groaned, "You combined forces with Chick Hicks, no wonder I'm in this mess."

…

Weeks had passed and there was still no sign of Lightning McQueen. Despite their attempt to keep it under wraps, his disappearance had made national news. It was just like when Lightning had first gone missing at the end of the last season.

"Stormy, come on, we need to load up if we are going to make it to New York for the opening race," Doc told his daughter.

Stormy just gave him a look, "You want me to just continue like my baby brother isn't missing?"

"Stormy, Sheriff is working hard, he's trying to figure out where Lightning is. As soon as there's news we will be the first ones notified."

…

Lightning was stuck in the trunk of the car. He knew that he was a long way from Radiator Springs. He had been stuck in the trunk for over a week now. He just wanted to get out, but there was nothing he could do.

He felt as the car came to a stop, his stomach growled, not that he had anything to give it. He heard the car turn off and the door open and close. He was alone now. He struggled around trying to get someone's attention, anyone's attention. As he leaned back against the back of the back seat so that he could use his legs to kick on the lid of the trunk the back seat collapsed, sending him sprawling in the main part of the car. He was free.

Lightning moved slowly, the light was blinding, he was stiff, and he couldn't remember the last time he had a decent meal. He slowly pulled himself into a sitting position, holding a hand over his eyes. As he looked around to get his barrings he smiled. Jax had made a fatal error. He had stopped at the pub in Thomasville.

He tried the door closest to him only to discover that it didn't open, he manually made sure it was unlocked and tried again the same result. It was child locked. Lightning knew better than to try the opposite door, it most likely was child lock as well. He painfully crawled over the center console and unlocked the driver's door, the one door that wouldn't be child locked.

As he stepped out of the car his legs cramped and buckled underneath his weight. He held onto the door until he was sure that he could stand up straight on his own.

He let go of the door and shut it, making sure that it was locked. Now to get away from here. He thought about going to the pub, but he didn't know if his uncle would be there, and he wanted to make sure that he had someone on his side when he did.

It was only a short walk to Smokey's garage, however, for Lightning, it took a good half hour on stiff legs that didn't want to work to get there.

Smokey looked up as the bell rang letting him know that he had a customer. He gasped, however, when his nephew that had been missing for the past six weeks hurriedly closed the door behind him. He looked at him with wide blue eyes, "If anyone asks, you haven't seen anyone matching my description. Jax should be done eating his lunch soon and he'll notice that I'm gone."

Smokey escorted him into his office, "Sit tight here, Lightning, while I call the police, and don't worry. Your father would skin me alive if he found out that I let some low life drag you off."

Lightning smiled, he had figured as much.

Not even five minutes later Jax entered the shop, someone had seen someone matching Mcqueen's description enter the shop and not come out again. He headed up to the manager that was behind a desk, "I'm looking for a teenager with red hair and blue eyes, have you seen him?"

Smokey nodded his head, "The only person I know that fits that description is my nephew that is visiting from out of town." Smokey gave him a dirty look, "You must know that we don't tolerate troublemakers in these parts."

Jax nodded his head, "Don't worry, I'm not looking for trouble," with that he turned around and nearly walked into a police officer.

"Then you don't mind me asking why you're after Lightning McQueen do you?"

Jax's eyes grew round, "I don't know what you're talking about officer."

Just then a soft voice spoke up from the corner, "That's okay, Jax I know all about it."

Jax turned around in alarm to see Lightning Mcqueen standing there, "But how," he turned to glare at Smokey, "You lied to me!"

Smokey smiled, "No I didn't, Lightning's father is my younger brother, Paul Hudson, therefore Lightning is my nephew and he is visiting me from out of town."

…

Lightning stretched out on the couch at Smokey's house, "thanks, Uncle Smokey."

Smokey smiled as he ruffled his hair, "No problem, it's no secret that you are the one who gave me back my brother."

"Why can't we let Dad and Stormy and everyone know that I'm alright?" Lightning asked, he was confused that the police wanted to keep his rescue a secret for now.

"They want to set up a sting. Jax doesn't know who hired him, so they want you to see if you can't get them to admit something."

"I'm glad I'm going to the race, and I can't wait to see Dad and Stormy again."

Smokey smiled, "You're calling him Dad now, last time you were here you were still calling him Doc."

Lightning shrugged, "I guess it started sounding natural to me."

…

Stormy wasn't happy, not only was Lightning still missing but Milton was at the race and was acting chummy with Chick Hicks. They were in Chick's living quarters of his trailer. Stormy was sure they were celebrating the downfall of Lightning.

Just then a gentle hand rested on her shoulder as a voice she recognized asked, "You don't happen to know where Chick is at do you?"

Stormy blinked, turning around to face her younger brother, "You're okay!" she exclaimed, only for Lightning to shush her.

"Not so loud, we need to get Chick and Milton to confess before anyone can know that I escaped."

Stormy nodded, "I need to tell Dad though, he was worried about you, Sheriff pretty much had to order him to come to the race."

Lightning nodded his head, "Go ahead, I'll talk to you later."

…

Milton and Chick couldn't believe their luck, the race started in a few hours and Lightning still hadn't been found. They were going to get away with this after all. Just then the door to the trailer opened and Lightning Mcqueen walked in, "Jax has a major flaw, he doesn't think about where he stops for lunch. It didn't occur to him that we were only a block and a half away from my uncle's garage until after I had escaped and got there."

"This is all your fault," Milton yelled at Chick, "It was your idea to hire him!"

"My fault," Chicks exclaimed, scrambling to the door, "none of this would have happened if you hadn't felt the need to brag to him."

With that the two criminals opened the trailer door only to discover several police officers waiting for them.

…

 **A/N: I know you wanted to see Lightning reunite with his family but that just has to wait until next time. Please review.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Okay, so this is late because of writer's block and it's short too because I honestly don't know what to do so this is probably the end.**

Chapter Nine:

Previously on Family

Milton and Chick couldn't believe their luck, the race started in a few hours and Lightning still hadn't been found. They were going to get away with this after all. Just then the door to the trailer opened and Lightning Mcqueen walked in, "Jax has a major flaw, he doesn't think about where he stops for lunch. It didn't occur to him that we were only a block and a half away from my uncle's garage until after I had escaped and got there."

"This is all your fault," Milton yelled at Chick, "It was your idea to hire him!"

"My fault," Chicks exclaimed, scrambling to the door, "none of this would have happened if you hadn't felt the need to brag to him."

With that, the two criminals opened the trailer door only to discover several police officers waiting for them.

…

Doc couldn't understand why Stormy was so darn happy, she was grinning like a loon.

"What are you so happy about?" he grumbled, "Your brother is on the verge of losing his sponsorship and nobody even knows where he's at."

Just then Sunny ran up, "Guys, Uncle Smokey is here!"

As they turned around to see Smokey none of them notice Lightning slipping behind them and pulling his racing jacket on. That was until he spoke.

"Thanks for the ride Uncle Smokey." He said.

Everyone turned to look at Lightning, who was leaning against his trailer as if he had been leaning against it the whole time.

Smokey shrugged, "No problem, know this Lightning, you're a Hudson and us Hudson's stick together."

Doc quickly run over and demanded, "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did they arrest the guys who did this?"

Lightning laughed, "I'm fine Dad, honest, I was able to escape when my kidnapper stopped for lunch. It's a good thing I knew how to get to Smokey's garage."

Doc turned to his older brother, "Thank you Smokey, for making sure my son got back to the family safely."

"Just doing my job as an uncle."

…

After the race which Lightning and Stormy tied first place, Doc found his son staring out into space outside the trailer.

"Something on your mind Rookie?" he grunted.

Lightning shook his head, apparently, his dad was the kind to give his kids nicknames, "Just thinking about how much things have changed in the past year."

"You're right things have changed," Doc agreed, "this time last year I was sitting in my office ignoring everyone watching the race."

"Back then I thought that all I needed was myself. I had been on my own for some time, and honestly I never really had someone to care for me since Mom died. Now I don't know what I would do without you guys.

"I got tickets to the big tie-breaker race, I can't remember how many, and I didn't know who to give them to. I passed it off as too many friends. At least now I'll invite the town." Lightning shook his head, "At first I raced because it was a way to escape, then it was for the money and then for the fans, now I race because I love it. I truly love it.

"Racing gave me my family."

Doc nodded his head, "Me too, son. Me too.

 **The End.**


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